"Dark Horse Game of the Year?"

The year 2007 is going to be one of the biggest in gaming history. Between all the celebrated franchises slated for a new installment (Halo, anyone?) and the slew of new IPs taking the industry by storm, the year is rife with stellar titles. One highly anticipated title has been the third(ish) installment in Nintendo's Metroid Prime franchise. I was able to get my hands on a full version of the game in advance (through no illegal means, sorry to disappoint), so read on and enjoy.

The game begins with bounty Hunter Samus Aran boarding a command ship orbiting the planet Norion, for a meeting with the Admiral. He informs you that several of the main organic supercomputers in the Federation network have been infected with a previously unknown virus. A vaccine has been engineered, and several of the computers have been ridden of the virus, but several remain infected. Until these computers are cleared of infection, the Federation network will remain down, and that is where you come in...

The story of MP3 is more of what we have seen from this series in the past, which is a good thing. It will neither blow your socks off or leave you with a lack of purpose. Throughout the game you will meet other hunters, who unlike the generic soldiers all have their own unique back story, attacks, and personalities. The Metroid universe remains great as always, pulling you into the action more and more as you go along.

Since it's inception in the old(er) school of gaming, Metroid Prime has tried to stay on the cutting edge of graphics, most recently dazzling players on the Gamecube. Corruption stays in the same vein as Echoes, with vivid exaggerating colors appearing everywhere, creating both beautiful skylines and busy space hangars. No PS3 super graphics to be found here, but the environment doesn't feel lacking in any way. Particle effects are equally as nice, making you treasure your rocket launcher that much more.

So what if the story is great? Oh, and the graphics are cool, too? Bah. Is it actually fun to play? In short: uhm...yeah. A longtime staple of the Metroid franchise has been it's addictive gameplay, which remains intact in this installment. The increased functionality of the Wiimote is also taken advantage of liberally, with everything from door handles to lassos having some form of interactivity. The controls are crisp for the most part, with virtually no learning curve required for use. Aiming and firing Samus' arm cannon is more fluid than ever with the use of the point-and-aim mechanic the Wii employs (think Resident Evil 4: WE). This game's fun factor hinges completely on the amount of fun the gameplay generates, and Metroid Prime 3 delivers.

So all things considered, could this game be a dark horse Game of the Year candidate? Completely. Although this is only August, and several titles have still yet to be released (including one which is most certainly to be nominated for these honors), it is this writer's opinion that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption definitely possesses the main qualities that define a good game: it looks good, it plays right, and it's just plain fun. A solid 8.5 outta 10.